What have you been carrying that is weighing heavy on your mind? What burden do you need to get rid of, but are afraid to release to God? Why don’t you trust Him with that heavy burden? These are all questions that beg an answer.
The truth is, there are answers for these questions. Many times, we know we need to hand these to God, but the trust level just isn’t there. Or we have no idea how to release them. After all, didn’t He give us this burden to carry?
Give the Burdens to God
God tells us the burdens we try to bear alone are too heavy for us to carry. So what do we do them? We learn the unforced rhythms of grace by allowing Him to carry them for us. He longs for us to release the burdens and learn to live freely and lightly. What difference would that make in your life if you could do that?
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to Me. Get away with Me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly” (Matt. 11:28-30, MSG).
Get Away With Jesus
We all need to get away with Jesus. We need to spend time with Him. We need to allow Him to help us with the things that seem so burdensome in our lives.
God tells us the answer, but He also tells us that most of us won’t tap into the answers. “In repentance and rest is your salvation. In quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it (Isa. 30:15, NIV). We don’t want to repent because that means we need to change what we are doing that is taking us out of being in alignment with God. Worry is one big one.
I find trust is another one that is difficult. If we fully trust God that means we must allow Him to handle the problems we can’t seem to let go of. If we let go of them, He will show us what to do. And if He doesn’t, we still need to trust Him.
Rest and Quietness
If we can hand the burdens to Him. If we can repent, by turning around and going the other way, we will find rest for our souls and quietness for our minds. We can learn to live freely and lightly. {eoa}
Teresa Shields Parker is the author of seven books, all available on Amazon. Her latest book, Sweet Hunger: Developing an Appetite for God, is available now, and Sweet Grace: How I Lost 250 Pounds is the No. 1 Christian weight-loss memoir. She is also a writing and weight-loss coach, blogger, speaker, wife and mother. Visit her online at TeresaShieldsParker.com to find her books, coaching programs and free gifts.
This article originally appeared at teresashieldsparker.com.
Janet Perez Eckles 
Shawn Akers 
Abby Trivett